Story of My Life: The Musical!

A meme circulating around Facebook about one's Top 25 Most Influential albums needs new life here, if you'll allow the indulgence. These're in chronological order. This might help explain my musical weirdness, or it might just confuse you:

The Early Years (1981 - 1993)

1. Tickle Tune Typhoon - Circle Around ...Kinder-pop!

2. Firesign Theatre - Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me The Pliers / I Think We're All Bozos On This Bus ...This was not by choice; it was my dad's pick
Side A of "Don't Crush That Dwarf".mp3

3. The Beatles - Revolver ...Mom's pick
And Your Bird Can Sing.mp3

4. Steely Dan - A Decade of Steely Dan ...From both parents
Reelin' in the Years.mp3

5. Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream ...I have listened to this album far, far more than any other.
Geek U.S.A..mp3

The Teen Years (1993 - 1999)

6. U2 - Achtung Baby ...Can YOU pick out the (supposed) 11 oral sex references throughout the album?
Even Better Than the Real Thing.m4a

7. Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill ...Quintessential angsty mid-90's femme-rock

8. Radiohead - OK Computer ...Revolution #1: Changed the way I listened to music
Let Down.mp3

9. Tori Amos - Boys for Pele ...So, so important
Father Lucifer.mp3

10. Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine
Kinda I Want To.mp3

The College/Bellingham Years (1999 - 2003)

11. Jeff Buckley - Grace ...Revolution #2, and my top "desert island" album pick
So Real.mp3

12. They Might Be Giants - Flood
Istanbul (Not Constantinople).mp3

13. The Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs ...I still worship Stephin Merritt as the lyrical god he is
Epitaph for My Heart.mp3

14. Velvet Goldmine OST ...Ah yes, the important Bowie/glam phase
Placebo - 20th Century Boy (T. Rex cover).mp3

15. Sleater-Kinney - Dig Me Out
Words and Guitar.mp3

The Post-College Years (2003 - 2008)

16. Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans / Illinois ...Revolution #3. Sufjan is my hero.
To Be Alone With You.mp3

17. Elliott Smith - XO
XO (Waltz #2).mp3

18. Andrew Bird - Weather Systems
Weather Systems.mp3

19. the Mountain Goats - The Sunset Tree / Ghana ...Revolution #4 -- an epiphany! John Darnielle and Peter Hughes as friends and influences
Going To Kirby Sigston.mp3

20. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
My Body is a Cage.m4a

These Days (2008 - Present)

21. Jens Lekman -When I Said I Wanted To Be Your Dog
You Are The Light (By Which I Travel Into This And That).m4a

22. Cut/Copy - In Ghost Colours
So Haunted.m4a

23. Islands - Arm's Way ...My pick for best album of last year. Epic! Move over, NMH
J'aime Vous Voire Quitter.m4a

24. the Mountain Goats - We Shall All Be Healed ...A whole new perspective
Mole.mp3

25. Girl Talk - Feed The Animals ...Ridic catchy. I think this album'll last the years.
Set It Off.mp3

51, Count 'em 51 Elliott Smith cover!

That's right folks. We salute The Rawking Refuses to Stop for re-posting their epic collection of Elliott Smith covers. We know this post is from like seven months ago, we heart completists (plus the links are still good) we thought we'd alert you to it.So head right over and get 'em while they're hot.

And sample one here:

Blackbird - Elliott Smith (The Beatles cover)

For one week only only...

You can stream this neat little film on PitchforkTV. It's a 1998 promo film for Elliott Smith. It's an awesomely lighthearted look at a singer often remembered for being anything but. Take a look:

VIDEO LINK EXPIRED

Care of Cell 44 - Elliott Smith (Zombies cover)

In Memorium

On Saturday, March 6, 1999, my best friend Salomé Holly was brutally stabbed to death by her stepfather Dayva Cross in an attack that also killed her mother and little sister. We were seniors in high school in Snoqualmie, Washington, not far from Seattle. Cross still sits on death row in Washington state. Ten years ago to the day, and the pain still burns deeply.

She was a passionate and brilliant fledgling biologist who loved amphibians, a Mormon, a beautiful clarinetist, a devoted recycler, a lover of reggae music and camping, and her beautiful French-Moroccan heritage.

Here's a mix of songs: Some are namesakes, some were her favorites, some helped me cope at the time, and some are what help me cope now.

Old 97's - Salomé.mp3
Chayanne - Salomé.mp3
Greenland - Salomé.mp3
Peter Doherty - Salomé.mp3
U2 - Salomé [Zooromancer Remix].m4a
Bob Marley - Jammin'.mp3
Stevie Wonder - I Just Called.mp3
Billy Joel - Only the Good Die Young.mp3
Tori Amos - Happy Phantom.mp3
Sarah McLachlan - Angel.m4a
Death Cab For Cutie - I Will Follow You Into The Dark.m4a
Sage Francis - Hell Of A Year.mp3
Chodoutans - My Beautiful Friend.mp3
the Mountain Goats - Song For an Old Friend (live).mp3
Elvis Costello - God Give Me Strength.mp3
Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven.mp3
Elliott Smith - Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands.m4a
I'm From Barcelona - Ola Kala.m4a
The Beach Boys - I Just Wasn't Made For These Times.mp3
Jens Lekman - How Much You Mean To Me.mp3
Simon & Garfunkel - Old Friends/Bookends.m4a
Sarah McLachlan - I Will Remember You.m4a

Update on last Elliott Smith post

So apparently Elliott Smith's family got word of the recently leaked song "Suicide Machine" and it understandably upset them. They've since requested it be taken done. As much as I love to find and share new Elliott songs, I'd hate to cause further grief to his family. We thank our readers for understanding.

More on the family's wishes here.

"Everybody's trying to turn me into a suicide machine"

Legend has it the night before Elliott Smith tragically died he recorded the vocal part for an instrumental track previously titled "Tiny Time Machine" Once the vocals were added the song was re-worked and ominously re-titled "Suicide Machine". There was never any evidence this song existed. That is until now. And we have it for you.

Before you get out the Kleenex, you should know, despite its title "Suicide Machine" is shockingly upbeat, almost defiantly so. It nearly mocks his sad-sack public persona, yet given the tragic timing, totally validates it.

Suicide Machine - Elliott Smith (removed per request)

Songs For a Snow Day

Elliott Smith - Angel in the Snow.mp3
Belle & Sebastian - Fox in the Snow.mp3
the Mountain Goats - Third Snow Song.mp3
Horse Feathers - Blood on the Snow.mp3
Shearwater - The Snow Leopard.mp3

EDIT: additions from June!
Islands - Abominable Snow.m4a
the Mountain Goats - Snow Crush Killing Song.mp3
Regina Spektor - 20 Years of Snow.m4a
Sufjan Stevens - Majesty Snowbird (live at Fox theatre).mp3
They Might Be Giants - When It Rains It Snows.m4a

and some other related songs for this snowy winter mood...
Tori Amos - Winter.m4a
Jens Lekman - The Cold Swedish Winter.m4a
Ruby Isle - White Winter Hymnal (Fleet Foxes cover).mp3
The White Stripes - In the Cold, Cold Night.m4a
Ra Ra Riot - Winter '05.mp3
The Blind Boys Of Alabama (feat. Chrissie Hynde & Richard Thompson) - In the Bleak Midwinter.mp3
the Mountain Goats - One Winter at Pint Alpha Private.mp3
Simon & Garfunkle - A Hazy Shade of Winter.m4a
Sufjan Stevens - Sister Winter.m4a

A sad Sunday song...

True Love - Elliott Smith

Happy 4th of July

To all you fellow Americans out there, a tributory mix!

Elliott Smith - Independence Day.mp3

Elliott Smith - Bottle Up and Explode!.mp3

John Philip Sousa - Stars and Stripes Forever.mp3

Bruce Springsteen - Born in the U.S.A..mp3

the Mountain Goats - We Were Patriots.m4a

Animal Collective - Fireworks.mp3

Elvis Costello - Indoor Fireworks.mp3

Simon & Garfunkel - America.mp3

Cat Power - American Flag.mp3

John Linnell - Songs of the 50 States.mp3

Sufjan Stevens - The 50 States Song (live).mp3

Sufjan Stevens - The Star Spangled Banner (live).mp3

and speaking of holidays...
Sufjan Stevens - Christmas in July.mp3

Happy Mother's Day

Send her a card, or hey, better yet, make her a mix of all things maternal:

• Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - Happy Mother's Day.m4a
  
• Neutral Milk Hotel - Mother (live with Chris Knox).mp3
  
• Beulah - Your Mother Loves You Son.m4a
  
• Voxtrot - Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives.mp3
  
• Jeff Buckley - Mama You've Been On My Mind (Bob Dylan cover).mp3
  
• The Decemberists - My Mother Was A Famous Trapeze Artist.mp3
  
• The Knife - We Share Our Mother's Health.mp3
  
• Elliott Smith - Wouldn't Mama Be Proud?.mp3
  
• Kanye West - Hey Mama.mp3
  
• Sufjan Stevens - Decatur, Or, Round Of Applause For Your Stepmother!.mp3
  
• Willie Nelson - Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys.mp3
  
• The Beatles - Your Mother Should Know.mp3
  
• Paul Simon - Mother and Child Reunion.mp3
  
• Tori Amos - Mother.mp3
  
• John Lee Hooker - Mama, You Got A Daughter.mp3
  
• Neil Halstead - Two Stones In My Pocket.mp3
  

(Your mother's arms will keep you safe, however you may be)

You oughta be proud that I'm getting good marks.

Sad Kermit (by far the most emo of all the muppets) covers Elliott Smith's "Needle in the Hay" and re-enacts the scene it soundtracked in The Royal Tenenbaums. Offbeat, yet reverent and bizarrely affecting.

I'm Only Sleeping

So, so exhausted. I've been to 3 concerts in the last 5 days, which basically means going to bed by 2 earliest and awake at 7:30 latest ('cause some of us have jobs that sadly do not entail blogging). Anyways lots of photos, setlists and of course songs are on there way, so look for them over the next few days. But for now I need to recuperate from the past few awesome nights and thus I'm only sleeping.

I'm Only Sleeping - Elliott Smith (Beatles cover)

All we care about is grand-folks

I'm at the grandparent's house in Florida for the next few days, working on a computer with a slow-as-woah dial-up connection, so my VK updates might be scant over the course of the week.

However, considering how much wonderful it is spending time with people whose job it is to essentially spoil you, it seems only apt to share this clip of one particularly awesome granddad. Check out Elliott Smith's grandfather Bill Berryman doting on his extremely talented grandson:

Duck and Cover!

I'm not feeling very articulate today, but here are some cover songs currently running through my brain. Enjoy!

The Ballad of El Goodo - Colin Meloy (Big Star cover)

Jealous Guy - Elliott Smith (John Lennon cover)

Born on a Train - Arcade Fire (Magnetic Fields cover)

A Song from Under the Floorboards - Morrissey (Magazine cover)

News from KRS, AK, and the guiltiest of pleasures

Just the highlights. From Kill Rock Stars:
+ The Gossip’s Beth Ditto has an advice column in The Guardian?!
+ Elliott Smith's album New Moon is now streaming at MySpace until tomorrow. After that, you can hear it at virb.com.
+ The Mary Timothy Band's debut album, The Shapes We Make, has a song available for download. Check out Sharpshooter.mp3.
+ Xiu Xiu has a video podcast (live at Neumos in Seattle, WA) available here.

From Asthmatic Kitty:
+ Shapes and Sizes' new album Split Lips, Winning Hips, A Shiner comes out May 22. You can hear it streaming on AK's site now. Download Alone/Alive.mp3 and Head Movin'.mp3.
+ The first 150 people who order it will receive the band's limited release tour EP.
+ S&S tours with The National this spring and summer throughout the Midwest and central Canada (I think I speak for all on the west coast and beyond when I say Wah!)
+ Unusual Animals has a show on May 13 at Union Hall in Brooklyn.Get tickets and go see them with Flying, Stars Like Fleas, and Osso (It's also the release party for the aforementioned new S&S album).

Finally, our buddy Wes debates the tongue-in-cheek term "guilty pleasure" with us as we announce the Guilt By Association compilation, released August 28th.

Dubbed as "Bridging the gap between TRL and Pitchfork, bringing together the indie with the irreverent," I'll let the track list speak for itself:
1. Petra Haden: ”Don't Stop Believin’” (Journey)
2. Devendra Banhart: “Don't Look Back In Anger” (Oasis)
3. Mark Mulcahy: “From This Moment On” (Shania Twain)
4. Luna: “Straight Up” (Paula Abdul)
5. The Concretes: “Back For Good” (Take That)
6. Jim O'Rourke: “Viva Forever” (Spice Girls)
7. Goat: “Sugar We're Going Down” (Fall Out Boy)
8. Will Oldham/Bonnie 'Prince' Billy” “Can't Take That Away” (Mariah Carey)
9. Woody Jackson Orchestra featuring Money Mark: Love's Theme (Love Unlimited Orchestra)
10. Porter Block: ”Breaking Free” (High School Musical)
11. Mooney Suzuki: ”Just Like Jesse James” (Cher)
12. Geoff Farina: “Two Tickets To Paradise” (Eddie Money)
13. Casey Shea: “Chop Suey” (System of a Down)
14. Superchunk: “Say My Name” (Destiny's Child)
15. Mike Watt: “Burning For You” (Blue Oyster Cult)

Will Oldham covers Mariah Carey? Devendra Banhart covers Oasis? ANYbody is covering Paula Abdul, Eddie Money and Take That?? This is either the GREATEST or WORST thing to ever happen to music. It's certainly the guiltiest.

New Moon

In a little less than a week, Elliott Smith fans can finally legally obtain, New Moon, a two disc collection of rarities and previously unreleased material recorded between 1995 and 1997. After giving it a few cursory listens, I can tell you this: posthumous collections rarely sound this consistent and cohesive. Mainly acoustic and sparsely produced, these songs are among some of the finest of the Kill Rocks Stars era, and some would say golden era, of his career. But beyond exemplifying his trademark melancholy and simultaneously angelic, yet caustic voice reminiscent of choirboy kicked out of church, New Moon serves as a bittersweet reminder of how much we have truly lost.

Going Nowhere - Elliott Smith
High Times - Elliott Smith

Pre-order New Moon